The Czech Culture Ministry has rejected the application of the Cannabis Church (Konopna cirkev) to be officially registered as a church.

The ministry said it would not even deal with the application as the faith in the benefits of cannabis and its propagation cannot be considered a religion.

“The minister says we want to have a church in order to worship a narcotic substance. There is no such thing in our application. It concerns spiritual affairs… We want to run hospices, visit prisons and do things that are needed,” its representative Dušan Dvořáksaid.

In any case, the newly registered churches have no right to receive financial contributions for their operation from the state, unlike traditional churches.